Bryson Gobel

In 1976 a study was conducted in a nursing home called Arden House in Connecticut. Known as the Langer and Rodin study, researchers divided residents into two groups. A “high responsibility” and “low responsibility” group. Residents who participated were given plants to take care of regardless of the group they were assigned to. The “high responsibility group” was told they were responsible for the plant’s care and were provided other opportunities to exercise choice as well.

I love the fall. It’s my favorite season, especially in Walla Walla. Walking downtown with my coffee in hand, breathing in the crisp air and gazing at all the leaves on the ground that crunch beneath my feet. There’s another reason, however, and that’s because every October my partner and I watch the animated series Over the Garden Wall together. I even have a watercolor painting of it in my office.